


The First Time They Were Asked For Night-Time Cravings

by breakies



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-11-23 19:08:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11408703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breakies/pseuds/breakies
Summary: A fan-fiction based on Blood_Sucker_1428's fantastic work, "A first time with Everything", Mythea Fanfiction.This small work is a security POV text, based on Chapter 194 "The First Time She Had Night-time Cravings ".





	1. The Rules

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Blood_Sucker_1428](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blood_Sucker_1428/gifts).
  * Inspired by [A First Time For Everything](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3230444) by [Blood_Sucker_1428](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blood_Sucker_1428/pseuds/Blood_Sucker_1428). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: English is not my mother tongue. The style, grammar and vocabulary are not perfect, I know that.  
> I am looking for a proof-reader, whose english would be his/her mother tongue. If you are motivated, please write a comment :-)

The clock showed two o'clock; for the three people composing the night security team, it rarely indicated the beginning of the afternoon, but a typical and quiet work hour.

The domain they had to cover included a house - sometimes referred as the _palace_ \- with 2 floors in the middle of a nice wooded estate. _  
_

On security people scale, th _e job_ was well-paid and the conditions were _very_ correct. They benefited their heated and air-conditioned own cottage, connected yet isolated from the palace, nicely decorated, with not less than five rooms. The first one them was a secured one, for weapons manipulation ; the second one was a mixed cloakroom, with closed lockers : the third one was a kind of living room, with a couch, a pair of armchairs, a low table, a small fridge, a microwave oven and a tea/coffee machine. The fourth room was a bathroom with a pair of sinks and non-mixed toilets.

No TV was allowed for obvious reasons in the cottage but the fifth room, which was the main room, had a wall covered with giant screens displaying all the cameras streaming - which look like a lot of CCTV cameras present on all the London city - monitoring all strategic places.

In front of the Screen Wall, a long table with the keyboard enabling to control the screens, an interphone linked directly to the entrance and two talkie-walkies stations for the guards who walked in the domain.

There were also three wired vintage phones: a red one, a yellow one, and a beige one. They all had a function and use, precisely defined by the **_Rules_**.

The **_Rules_** which were printed on a poster with large characters on the back of the security entrance door and on the opposite wall of the entrance door, so as any security guy could not possibly miss the Rules whenever he or she _enters_ or _exits_ the cottage. It was not possible since the first Rule of the **_Rules_** was that the _**Rules poster**_ was to be displayed and all the display places were rigorously described _._

One outside person would not believe in this or thinks the Rules writer was an off-his-rock tyrant: yet if you knew the Rules writer and if he was your boss, the Rules were a kind of gift and a protection. Because it would be your best defense whenever something wrong would happen on the domain because you probably just followed the rules. Probably because if it was not the case, you certainly not stayed a long time on this job.

Or was it the case until this night.


	2. The map

Among the three people in the cottage, A. had the longest career on the domain with his 15-year experience. He had personally trained C., which arrived 6 years ago. The youngest member, K., was also the last arrived, 6 months ago.

This semester, they would keep the domain the Tuesdays and the Fridays nights, and the bank holidays during the day time.

These were the general rules, to some days' exception, but of course, all the planning had been prepared by A. and validated by the _Master_. During the others nights and days, two others teams were taking over. During winter periods, there was also a regular turnover for the walker's teams.

It was a quiet night. You could say it was a quiet night when the check exchange with the two walkers in the domains was:

"No problem here. I saw Puppy chewing a mouse. Alright in the cottage ?"

"Puppy" was a big owl and the favorite pet of the night team. The security work could be dull, and the animals life of the domain always brought some company to the lonely walkers and some kind of distraction.

K. was watching the cameras, while discussing of the latest events.

"Did'ya see the photos of that snow storm in the Unite' States? 'Twas impressing. I like snow a lot, bu't I would not wish to switch my place today, must be the mess to go to work."

A. chuckled.

"That's one of the differences between being a child and an adult. I don't like snow much either. There was that big snow in London some years ago and this was my day to walk in the domain..."

Looking at C., which was not from London, he asked

"I don't think you were already here ?". When C. confirmed, he continued. "You were not able to see the paths or the roots, truly a mess. I thought my field knowledge would be sufficient, but I slid badly on an ice sheet. Sprain..."

K. winced, still watching the screens and switching one of the streams, the one in the entrance, on the big display, while C., who sat nearly A. asked, interested.

"That's too bad. What did you do? How did you manage to go back to the cottage then ?"

"I could not. Or maybe could I in four legs, but this would have been crazy, wouldn't it ?"

Humming, K. added

"And it'd have been agains' the _Ruuuules_ !"

C. laughed, but A. barked a little kindness to the youngster.

"Don't you make fun of the rules, girl. Well, I warned the cottage, and a robust guy you don't know went out to look for me, but it was not easy during the night and all. We had to yell at each other a bit. And when we came back to the cottage, the master was here. He had heard the yelling, you know."

C. chuckled.

"Oh God, you never told me this one, A.! Was he angry ?"

K. added

"Did you and your savior have to copy 100 times the rules ?

A. frowned.

"No, he is not like that. He seems to be concerned, he wanted to know what happened. Three days after, a precise map with all the paths named on the domain had been made. He told us it would avoid looking for each other the next time."

This time, the eyes of K. looked at A. briefly, amused.

"...that's why they are paths and trees names. I always thought this was crazy, but this is brilliant !"

It was difficult to say if K.'s "brilliant" was ironic or sincere. A. did not have the time to report because the voice of the guard at the entrance was heard.

"Hey guys, my time is finished, nothing special, and H. has just arrived (on the background, H. saluted everybody by a "'morning") I am coming back in the cottage, clean your mess"

And this was when H. arrived at the cottage the beige phone rung, making them all jump.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~To be continued~~  
> I like writing good introductions to the story.  
> Hope you enjoyed this mini-chapter.  
> Next time, the call.


	3. The call

A panic wave stroke the four guards, although it was only the beige phone. "Only" because, as the rules state, it was the less alarming of the three phones.

A red phone means _massive_ attack. In the best case, the voice would order you to barricade the cottage at once. In the worst case, to go downstairs _immediatly_ in the fallout shelter.The red phone meant _imminent death_.

The security team was unlikely to use the red phone, except they were the first to know their _imminent deaths,_ and _before they die themselves if possible_.

Any abuse of the red phone was direct prison. It was in all the contacts any security guard signed. The red phone was the element saying all the guards the _power_ of the Master of the domain, a power they could only guess as they did not know exactly what his job was, for their own safety.

As one could deduce from the color, the yellow phone was for alerts not implying imminent death, yet it could imply imminent attack, presence of one or several gunned ennemies, or a bomb with relatively small effect zone. As for the red one, the security guards were able to use them if they were the first to detect the threat.

What about beige phone ? It was for all the cases the red and the yellow phones did not cover, or potential light threats which needed to be checked. It could also be a master phone call asking if everything was alright.

Yet there was a little stag.

A. never heard the beige phone ring at 2 a.m. just to say hi, how is the night, is Puppy alright, or _even for wishing the security team an Happy New Year_. The time, more the than the call o the phone color, was _deeply_ worrying.

But as it was the beige phone, they did not know how serious it was, even if it should have been less dangerous than a yellow phone call.

The reason the bell was upsetting right now was because the team was in front of its worst ennemy of the security team : The Unknown, The Unpredictable.

And here were the 15 year experience from A. were proven once again useful.

"OK no panic be prepared, I take the call" as the bell was ringing for the third time.

"Hello, A. here"

While K. was trying to concentrate on the screens, C. and H. were monitoring any facial movements from A. : very serious in the begining, and then some contained surprise with a touch of perplexity.

A. mimed writing and C. gave his pen and notebook to him silently. H. approached the table as A. was starting to write.

"[...] Yes, sir, I've noted them all. Any other thing you may need or any restriction, sir ? [...]"

C and H exchanged a puzzled look while reading what A. wrote.

" [...]Yes, we will try. [...] No, of course, it's not what I mean. _We will do_ , sir. [...] Yes, sir. I do the necessary to deliver this at the entrance as quickly as possible."

A. gulped as he set the receiver back on the phone. K. stopped watching at the screens.

"I saw nothing on the cameras. Wasit the master ? What he wanted ?"

Turning the notebook before A. reacts, she frowned at what looked liked a bizarre food list.

"Is...that a secret enigma we have to decipher ?"

C. chuckled and answered.

"Looks like more a food list,  ahaha ! What is it, A. ?"

H. intervened.

"Yeah, what is it? Can I go now or is there going to have a pickles rebellion ?"

A. frowned and nodded negatively.

"No, not an attack. The master has just asked us to go out to pick these .... _ingredients_ in a convenience store at night _._

H. sighed and took the direction of the cloakroom, feeling not necessary for him to stay. C. frowned. 

"But what about the rules ? We can not go out. There must always be three people at least here."

K. added, while turning back the notebook.

"And good luck for the pickles A. I've a convenience' store closing at 4am near my flat but they don't have pickles. My girlmate made a rant about this once...pickles are rarer products than you may think !"

A. looked alternatively to C. and K. and answered when H. was back.

"Yes, there are the Rules. But our orders master can go beyond the Rules. This may be our more important mission tonight and WE must answer to it straightaway, at all levels. H., you may do some supplementar hour tonight"

H. had his hand on the door handle.

"You will be paid, H. Might be able to pay your Breast of the Wild game"

K. laughed, while H. turned back.

" _Breath_ of the Wild, how many times do you have to correct you seriously."

C. intervened

"So, I replace you, H. replaces me and you go ? Do you want me to warn the entrance?"

A. nodded negatively.

"No, I have to stay here. K., you will go, H. will replace you."

K. lost her smile.

"Ey, what ? Bu't it's my turn to watch the cameras and all...and H. must be tir'ed afta' his day"

"Yes, you should be watching the screens, but you have stopped doing this some minutes ago, K. !"

K. spinned to look back at the screens, with the elegance of  a monkey.

"Yah yah yah I was watchin', eyes behind my neck and all, promise sir"

A. sighed, starting to believe his idea was not the best. But the dice were cast, and they were losing time, and vanilla cream could not wait. He took a moment, and talked with a very solemn voice.

"K., we talked about that. The day where you would have your first special _mission_ and you will be on your own...."

C. had a sudden coughing fit, hiding admiratively a roar of laughter while K. was fixing the screens.

"...you said you knew where a convenient store open at this time was. Please take your car, go there, and bring back all the elements of the list. Ask for the pickles too or go to a place that might have and be opened. I can advance the money."

K. was agitated but seemed focused.

"Kay, kay, kay, A., I'm ur' girl. Money no problem. But told ya they n'ver had pickles."

"The Master specifically said _pickles were important_ , so try to find a solution, but do not take too long. You must be back in 30 minutes maximum"

K. turned back, took a ig sigh and answered, chewing hald of her words.

"Goad, I never thought I'd meet another one tellin' me pickles're important'. Okey, time to go, then ? I take mah bag and run to the entrance, you tell them"

C. waited for K.'s departure to interrogate A.

"A., be honest. Did the master say _the pickles were important_ ?"

"Of couse he didn't. He said, _if this is not too demanding, finding pickles would be an appreciated bonus_. But it implies we would go beyond his own expectations if we do. K. must rise."

H. had the last word.

"I just hope she doesn't _fall_ "

The trio fell silent. Back to work, as usual as it could be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~To be continued~~  
> Next time, K. very special mission in London.


	4. The list

The Palace was out of the city, and K. had to take the road in direction of the city to the surbubs where she lived with her girl mate. They had lived here for three months now, and they could rent the flat mainly with K. recent wages increase.

K. liked the new flat very much. The last one was infested with cockroaches, an insect scourge which was impossible to eradicate: her girl mate was very maniac and very perfectionist on cleaning, yet she could not defeat these little monsters, which were able to survive a nuclear bomb. Not having to chase cockroaches was an unbelievable blessing.

In her second-hand car, K. had the feeling of doing something forbidden. Technically, she was acting against the Rules. It was all weird to go to the convenience store for work: what if she had an accident now? She could be fired...for pickles!

However, K. did not have any accident - she could have counted on her fingers the numbers of cars she saw of she was not busy to drive safely - and found a parking place between the convenience store and her place. She had a sigh of relief seeing the light in the convenience store: it was opened.

Unfolding the list of her pocket, she took a basket and starts walking between the shelves, picking up each piece of the list: the ice cream first -she took chocolate, then the vanilla custard - for this one, she selected the extra-thick one without thinking about it, because it was _her_ favorite.

K. took a moment to look at the Wall of Crisps. Her favorite was the Worcester sauce from Walkers, yet it was not a universal taste. What kind of crisp was she supposed to take? And for how many people was this supposed to be? Maybe she should take two ice cream boxes, now she _thought about_ it. It was so _weird_ to shop for someone you do not know, you barely saw _three times_ , in the middle of the night.

She eventually picked the Sea Salt With Crushed Black PepperCorns from Kettles, and Max Paprika crisps from Walkers, which formed a good compromise. Coming back to the freezer, K. took an exotic fruit sorbet, before starting to look for the last element: the pickles.

Alas, they were nowhere to be found: K. came back to the crisps shelves, she tried the canned vegetables one and even the "discount shelf of the moment" but K. couldn’t find the precious last item.

With a sigh, K. went to the cash and asked the cashier if they had any of them.

"No, ma'am. But it's not the first time we are asked, we may add them one day."

K. went out with two plastic bags, one for the ice creams, the other for the non-frozen elements, a bit disappointed. After she  put the bags on the passenger seat, K. took her smartphone, intending to open Maps app to find an opened pickles place near.

The picture of her with her girl mate greeted her. K. gulped. She had an idea. This was crazy, but... what did she have to lose ?

Quickly, she starts typing a well-known phone number. K. heard Valerie hook the phone.

"Hey Va ! It's K., I need a service!"

"..."

"Valerie? Can you hear me?"

"K., what's happening? Are you alright ? WHY are YOU calling ME at THIS time? "

Valerie seemed to be upset and furious. K. looked at the clock of her car. Oh yeah, it was nearly 2:30am.

"Oh...hum...s'rry, w're you asleep ?"

"Not yet. That's not the point. Jesus! You scared me to death! I thought you were hurt or dead or _something_. You told me you could not phone me during your working hours !!!"

"S'rry, sorry. I'm working, but in _special_ circumstances, 'll explain ya later but first, I need a service for you. I was given a mission and' I need to find somethin' you migh'have."

The skepticism was all in Valerie's voice when she answered.

"And what _might_ I have?"

K. took a deep breath and said solemnly

"Pickles"

A silence greeted the word. Valerie sniggered, retorting

"MmMM..Literally or figuratively?"

K. felt her cheeks blushing.

"I need a pickles jar, Valerie, I'ma serious here, could'you please..."

"Is this a joke, K. ? Or a game, like that stupid television program who traps people for money ?"

The more Valerie was sarcastic, the more K. felt panicked and desperate.

"No, Valerie, sweetie. I swear. Please. It's important. It's for my _job_."

She nearly sobbed the last word. Valerie kept silent when she heard that, and her voice became more gentle.

"OK, give me a minute. I _always_ have stocks, as you _might_ know. If you don't know, sweetie, I would feel _offended_ "

K. heard Valerie moving in the flat and waited, crossing her fingers with her free hand, not daring to add anything, whispering a silent prayer.

"K. ? I've got one. New, in their vinegar and everything, ready to be eaten or whatever you need to do with this"

K. exulted in her car.

"YES, you're the best! I'm coming to take them! I'm just in the street"

Valerie chuckled : it was not everyday you could make K. roar with pickles.

"You are in the street? And you call me? Girl, you owe me at least an explanation afterwards"


	5. The accident

K. had collected the pickles jar and had walked back safely to her car. She was so happy and relieved to have succeeded in collecting all the elements, including the most important one, the PICKLES, she was actually _giggling_.

Yet the mission was not finished. K. had to get back to the Palace. Time passed quickly. The pickles (and the ice cream, for obvious temperature reasons) could not wait.

After calming herself a bit, K. started the car engine and did a swift half turn to go back to her work.

Stopping at the traffic lights, she saw a couple walking with the most gigantic dog she had ever seen. It was totally black, with very long hair. He must be 4 feet high at least. Fascinated, K. watched him arriving on the other side of the road and disappearing in the darkness with his masters.

The traffic light turned green. She pressed the accelerator to move on.

Next second, she heard a violent squealing of brakes with the desperate sound of a horn and broken glass and saw only the crude light of a motorbike highlight coming from her left. K. saw all her life through her eyes, starting with the gigantic form of a black dog, eating pickles.

Would she die here ?

* * *

K. left the place thirtish minutes ago. Nothing notable happened, except one of the mobile guard finished his day and one other took his place.

The entrance guard informed the cottage that there was some light and activity in the mansion, "located in the kitchen". A. answered briefly they had information the master was awake, without giving anything about the call contents.

A. thought this was nearly impossible the rumor of the "nightly shopping list" asked by the master did not spread beyond the guards team before the end of the month, but he would not be the _tattler one_.

This rumor would join the others rumors: when he arrived, the trendy question was discovering what the Master actually did : the gossip oscillates between him being a kind of _James Bond_ or a _French double-agent_ , or _the man in the shade, who made money with less or more illegal activites, leading in secret the Dark cabinet, waiting for being the next Prime Minister_.

The last one had lost some credibility because the years passed, and it seems he was _still_ not Prime Minister.

The most fanciful of these rumors was that the Master was a vampire. It was more popular than one could have expected, but for months, it was a common joke on the guard team to remind they work for the grand-son of the Earl of Dracula.

The most recent ones were the titbits around the mysterious P.A., who, since she came in the Palace for the First Time, became familiar figure. The rumors said she had become _more than_ a P.A. and drama scenarii and stories the tabloiids would have loved had started to spread widely.

"Will you tell her ?"

C. had this strange habit to start conversation asking a question with the minimum of context. A. tried to guess what his teammate was talking about. In vain. Rising an eyebrow, he asked back

"What do I tell who ?"

"K. You'll tell her about the pickles. That they were a bonus, and not the most important _thing_."

While the narrator wondered whether she should have called the fan-fiction "The Pickles Affair Drama"instead, in front of A.'s silence, C. developed his idea.

"She said it herself this would probably the most tricky one, and you, you lie to her by stating it's critical. That's nasty. You cannot do all the loyalty and integrity speeches after"

H. laughed and turns to C., adding

"Yeah, and the 'you should not spread rumors about the master, because it is against confidentiality terms we all sign' ... "

(It was not explicitly written, for obvious reasons) A. smiled despite himself.

"I just said that for a _superior_ purpose. And for K.'s sake. She would not have searched the pickles at all, I know her."

C. rolled his eyes.

" _Superior_ purpose. Did you pick these expressions from the Earl of Dracula, honestly..."

H. chuckled as he hadn't heard _that_ nickname for a long moment…

* * *

 A long moment seemed to have passed, yet she did not know how many minutes. Her elbow, the security belt hurt a lot, but she seemed to be OK. Her heart definitely did not stop :its beat was crazy as hell. Thanks to the lights of her car, she could see the motorbike, a few meters away, which never hit her car.

How could she have not seen it ? What mistake did she make ? She was sure the traffic light was green…or wasn’t it ?

The moto driver had switched off his vehicle and remove his helmet.

“I would have bet you were a girl…don’t they learn how to drive ? You nearly killed me…”

A dog barked, and K. saw the couple who had came back to see what happened.

The woman kindly asked, clearly concerned.

“Are you both alright ? Is there someone hurt ?”

The motobiker answered

“She nearly killed me…did not respect the traffic light…”

K. did not answer. She had checked her car, which had nothing. The motorbike had nothing too…then where does this glass breaking could come …

She gasped in horror, coming back to her car, ignoring the three guys and the dog, who barked again.

“No no no no no no no”

They saw K. taking something in her two hands, and putting it under the light of her car, revealing…a pickles jar.

Intact.

“Oh…thanks..Jesus or whatevaaa….”

The three persons exchanged a look of perplexity. The woman intervened, worried.

“Madam, are you feeling allright ? Did your head hurt something ?...”

K. looked at the woman, then to her companion, then to the motocycle driver, then to the dog. Which barked again.

With a closed expression, she put back slowly the jar, then went face to face with the motocycle driver. Then K. started yelling at his face.

“YOU DID NOT RESPECT THE TRAFFIC LIGHT !!! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME OR WORSE, YOU COULD HAVE HIT MY CAR, OR EVEN WORSE YOU COULD HAVE DESTROYED THE PICKLES JAR!!! YOU’RE GOING TO SHUT UP AND GET AWAY OF MY PATH, YOU NAUGHTY NUGGET, BECAUSE I’M WORKING AND IF YOU DON’T MOVE THEN YEAH I WILL KILL YOU”

The biker did not move, bewildered, his eyebrows raised.

She hissed as a male cat and took a deep breath.

Looking at the couple who did not dare to say anything now, she pointed at the dog, and said, with a gentle voice

“You really have a nice and big dog”

The dog seemed to understand this was for him, because he barked again.

It would have been the conclusion of the discussion, because K. went back to her car, started aggressively the engine, and everyone of them dispersed obediently.

In the middle of the crossroads, where K.'s car had stopped previously, remained the remains of an old beer glass bottle, responsible of the scary noise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~To be continued~~


	6. The bank note

A. was starting to feel nervous in the cottage : the time was passing and there was no news at all from K.

What would be the plan B if anything wrong happened ? He would have to wait for the next change of member team, and would have to ask C. to stay. Maybe he would need to go himself ? Of course, the first thing would be to try to contact K. first.

He hoped she _had_ her phone - he _should_ have checked - and that _her phone had still battery_. Maybe he would try to call to her flat and asked his girl mate if K. passed ?

...

Well, what could go wrong? It was ridiculous, and as a confirmation, his phone vibrated. A's eyes widened when he read the short message.

"Entrance, had accident but OK. You can come and deliver - K"

An accident? Did K. crash on the portal? How could that be possible?

"H., can you switch on the entrance camera?»

The entrance was perfectly normal. Sighing, he switched on the interphone.

"Hello. Is K. with you ?"

And K. answered directly, her voice a little quieter as usual.

"Hey A. ! Did you receive my message? I'm stupid, I could have used the interphone. I've go'everythin', includin'...the most important, ya know. Can you come here to deliver the ...material?”

"K. Did you have an accident? Are you all right?»

C. and H. raised an eyebrow. There was a silence and K. answered

"Uhm, I nearly crashed with a motorbike. But don't worry, pickles are OK, and my car too..."

A. heard a little laugh coming surely from the guard in the background. Absent-mindedly, A. stood up and froze.

It was against the Rules to go out of the Cottage....however, if we were respecting the Rules, K. would not be on the entrance. He had to move.

"I'm coming back _immediately_."

Taking his weapon, A. walked quickly to the entrance, situated to a 200m-ish of the cottage : K. greeted A. with a yelping and nearly jumped on him with the plastic bags, trying to give it to him.

The entrance guard was monitoring the cameras, but seemed to listen to what was happening on his back. A. looked at K. from bottom to top: her hair was a little messier, and she was slightly shaking, but she was unhurt.

"A., it's heavy, if you could please..."

"No."

"No?”

A. crossed his arms on his chest, simply glaring at K.. He saw her expression change to scare, as she understood.

"No. No, I...prefer you go. You answered to the phone. Seriously..."

"You...did the mission, you finish it K. It's simple, you go to the entrance, you r..."

A. stopped and frowned. Well, maybe ringing was not the best idea. The entrance said he saw light, so...

"You _don't_ ring. You hit the door, and _he will be here_ to take the material. You just say good evening and have a good night, sir."

He felt idiot to explain this in detail. Some frustration escaped on his conclusion.

“That’s all!"

K. was deflating, trying to focus again. She closed her eyes and took gulps of air, like a diver before the big jump.

He put his hands on her shoulders.

“K., look at me. You found _pickles_. You can do that”

Determined, the woman answered.

“I found the pickles. I can do that. I go”

And she went, without turning back, contrary to the entrance guard, who turns to ask A..

“What’s that pickles story? Are we expecting an happy event?”

A. rolled his eyes, and not even trying to understand what his colleague could mean and barked:

“You, you watch the entrance. I need to go back to the cottage.”

It was only on his way back A. realized. The pickles. The ice creams. The master. The PA. The middle of the  night. The crisps. The happy event.

He could not believe it.

* * *

 

K. walked slowly to the entrance. When she arrived, she freed her right hand, did not ring just as A. told her and rose her fist to hit the door. K. clumsily hit the door and before she spuld hit the third time, the unlocked door opened.

It was the Master. He was dressed in a nice dressing gown, looking like silk fabric. She also could see the collar and the fine straps of his pajamas. He seemed a little tired, even if his hair was not particularly tousled. He seemed to be more steady than she was, and as intimidating and cold as usual.

And K. was the one supposed to work during the night. Happily enough, with the obscurity, he would not see her blush. He greeted her with a small smile, while she was standing immobile, her fist still high.

“ _Good evening_. You seem to have found a store ?”

“Oh. Yah…m sorry. Good evening sir, here's the food you asked. Including the most critical one, the pickles, as you ask.”

She saw him frowning, as if he was a little puzzled, during half a second. The next half, she had the impression to go under the X-ray gaze of his. He took slowly the plastic bags on his left hand.

Now K. had nothing to occupy her hands which were shaking from the emotion of the near-accident and began to triturate them while trying to remember what A. told her to say…

She stopped when she saw the master gaze on her hands, hiding them swiftly behind her back and taking the guard position. They look at each other, during three seconds which looked like an eternity for K.. He held out a paper with his right hand, inviting K. to take it. It was a bank note with three times the value of the shopping.

“It should fully cover from the outgoings  and _emotions_ of tonight. Please also forward my warmest thanks to the team. Good night.”

A. managed to take a gulp of air. She had forgotten to breathe.

“Oh, thank you sir. Good-d night, sir”

She bowed, while the master closed the door with a forced smile, and did not rise until the door was closed. Then K. allowed then herself to sigh with relief.

The Mission, the first one she had to do it solo (or nearly), was accomplished.

* * *

 

K. had explained how she had found the pickles and how they were implied in the emotional impact of the not-accident. C. had looked with insistance to A. when K. explained how the pickles had, by the course of events, raised the difficulty of the mission to an improbable chaos level, probably waiting for A. to reveal the truth.

When K. apologized to go to the bathroom, A said, looking alternatively to C. and H.

“If she learns about the pickles, I know it will be from one of you, and I swear on the Poster rules you’ll regret it.”

They said nothing, secretly agreeing.


End file.
